Letters

For those who attended the debate between John Leonard and Rick Martel on Monday, February 24, sponsored by the Hampton Bays Civic Association, we all heard a very clearly articulated road map for jump-starting the development of affordable housing projects. John Leonard had extensive knowledge of and specific plans for how he will support and encourage our Town Board to rapidly increase the construction, renovation and/or repurposing of buildings for new housing.

From John, we heard about how few “affordable” houses have been created in the last 10 years. We were reminded of the difference between affordable housing (which we desperately need) and workforce housing (equally lacking in our town). But we were also reminded of the relationship these new projects have to environmental issues, traffic issues, community density, school enrollment, parking, and on and on.

No project is “an island.” Each is complicated and requires plenty of forethought, adequate funding, environmental protections and community participation.

What we heard from John was a good deal of that forethought, the thinking that is required to make sure we have not forgotten some of the related issues. We have to balance both affordable housing and workforce housing to ensure that members of our community and those who work in our community can both have access to reasonably priced and safe housing.

Clearly, John has given this issue a great deal of thought, as we heard him discuss how to move forward and how to address the many complex relationships. For those who wonder why they should vote for John, the debate was his master class on serving as a Town Board member. It was clear to most of us that he is prepared and ready, and we and the current Town Board need him to help tackle the complicated issues they face every day.

I am voting for John Leonard for Town Council member and encourage you to do the same. I want more affordable and workforce housing for our community, and I want to see completed and occupied homes as quickly as possible.

David Glazer

Shinnecock Hills